Sunday, April 28, 2019

THE PINE LOOPER

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

THE PINE LOOPER

READ:  Jeremiah 17:1-10

He shall be like a tree planed by the waters, which
spreads out its roots by the river.  Jeremiah 17:8

In the summer of 1992, a fire blackened 4,500 acres of forest about thirty-five miles north of Atlantic City.  One homeowner saw a fireball with sixty-foot flames come roaring up across the street from his house, before veering away.  The Associated Press quoted him as saying, “I’ve worked twenty-five years of my life here.  The thought of having it gone in ten minutes makes you want to stay for the last possible minute.”

The fire was difficult to contain because of dry conditions.  The forest was dry despite rainfall, partly because of an insect called the pine loop, which defoliates trees.

The dry-tree condition behind this New Jersey fire has a parallel in the history of Israel.  Jeremiah said that his countrymen had become like dry shrubs in a desert rather than green trees by a river (17:6-8).  Even more alarming, he said they had aroused the fire of God’s anger (v. 4) by trusting in man and departing from the Lord (v. 5).  For Christians today, it’s life’s fiery trials that threaten to scorch our souls if we’re trusting in our own strength.

“Father, forgive us for making ourselves dry and leafless.  Without Your mercy, we would be consumed when the heat comes.  Teach us to root ourselves in the river of Your sufficiency.”  MD

The person who relies upon 
The Lord’s sufficiency
Is like a tree that’s planted by
Deep waters flowing free. -Sper

The fires of life will not destroy you if
you’re watered by the river of Life.



GOD'S RETIREMENT PLAN

God’s Retirement Plan

The angel of the Lord appeared to [Moses] in flames of fire from within a bush.
Exodus 3:2



Archaeologist Dr. Warwick Rodwell was preparing to retire when he made an extraordinary discovery at Lichfield Cathedral in England. As builders carefully excavated part of the floor of the church to make way for a retractable base, they discovered a sculpture of the archangel Gabriel, thought to be 1,200 years old. Dr. Rodwell’s retirement plans were put on hold as his find launched him into an exciting and busy new season.

Moses was eighty years old when he made a fiery discovery that would forever alter his life. Though the adopted son of an Egyptian princess, he never forgot his Hebrew lineage and raged at the injustice he witnessed against his kinsmen (Exodus 2:11-12). When Pharaoh learned that Moses had killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew, he planned to have him killed, forcing Moses to flee to Midian, where he settled (vv. 13-15).

Forty years later, when he was eighty, Moses was tending his father-in-law’s flock when “the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up” (3:2). In that moment, God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery (vv. 3-22).

At this moment in your life, what might God be calling you to do for His greater purpose? What new plans has He placed in your path?
By Ruth O’Reilly-Smith

REFLECT & PRAY
Holy God, be Lord of all my days as I surrender them to You afresh.

What do you learn from Moses and his calling from God? Why is it vital to be open to something new He’s doing in your life?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.


INSIGHT
God tells Moses to remove his shoes because “the place where you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). What made that ground holy? God’s presence. It’s the same presence that made the holy of holies in both the tabernacle and the temple holy and led to restrictions on entering it (Leviticus 16:2-3). J.R. Hudberg




AIN'T IT AWFUL!

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

AIN’T IT AWFUL!

READ:  Lamentations 3:25-42

Let us search out and examine our ways,
and turn back to the Lord.  Lamentations 3:40

A friend told me about a man who shouted the same three words each day from his street-corner newsstand.  “Ain’t it awful!” he would say to passerby while extending a newspaper.  People bought a paper because they just had to know what terrible thing had occurred.

Tragedy and dire predictions always make the front page, but if we become preoccupied with bad news, we will succumb to what my friend calls “awfulizing” -a pervasive pessimism that clouds every situation with gloom.

If anyone had a good reason for being despondent, it was the prophet Jeremiah.  For forty years he declared God’s judgment on the rebellious and unrepentant nation of Judah.  Jeremiah suffered because of their disobedience, but he clung to his faith in God’s goodness.  Even after witnessing the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of his people, Jeremiah wrote:  “The Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies….Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord” (Lamentations 3:31-32, 40).

Disobedience to God can cause great pain, but the doorway out of discouragement leads to the Lord, who “is good to those who wait for Him” (v.25).    DCM

Turn not aside, discouraged one,
Stir up your gift, pursue your goal;
In God’s own time you’ll see Him work,
He’ll give you hope and lift your soul. -DJD

Awful circumstances cannot alter the goodness of God.



ENJOYING BEAUTY

Enjoying Beauty

He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Ecclesiastes 3:11



The painting caught my eye like a beacon. Displayed along a long hallway in a big city hospital, its deep pastel hues and Navajo Native American figures were so arresting I stopped to marvel and stare. “Look at that,” I said to my husband, Dan.

He was walking ahead but I hesitated, bypassing other paintings on the wall to gaze only at that one. “Beautiful,” I whispered.

Many things in life are beautiful indeed. Master paintings. Scenic vistas. Inspired crafts. But so is a child’s smile. A friend’s hello. A robin’s blue egg. A seashell’s strong ridges. To relieve the burdens life can bring, “[God] has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). In such beauty, Bible scholars explain, we get a glimpse of the perfection of God’s creation—including the glory of His perfect rule to come.

We can only imagine such perfection, so God grants us a foretaste through life’s beauty. In this way, God “has also set eternity in the human heart” (v. 11). Some days life looks drab and futile. But God mercifully provides moments of beauty to ponder.
The artist of the painting I admired, Gerard Curtis Delano, understood that. “God [gave] me a talent to create beauty,” he once said, “and this is what He wanted me to do.”

Seeing such beauty, how can we respond? We can thank God for eternity to come while pausing to enjoy the glory we already see.
By Patricia Raybon

REFLECT & PRAY
Father, help me in the moments of this day to see and enjoy the beauty You bring into my life as I also look forward to eternity.

How do you respond to the beauty God has placed in this world? How does beauty reflect Him?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.


INSIGHT
The book of Ecclesiastes provides little clue to its date, but the author—“the Teacher” or “Preacher”—is by most believed to be Solomon, “son of David, king in Jerusalem” (Ecclesiastes 1:1). Yet others believe the author could well be an editor-author writing of the lessons of Solomon’s life in the tradition of wisdom. What is the book’s purpose? Michael Eaton in his commentary on Ecclesiastes states, “It defends the life of faith in a generous God by pointing to the grimness of the alternative.” He summarizes the Preacher’s purpose as “to drive us to see that God is there, that he is good and generous, and that only such an outlook makes life coherent and fulfilling.” Alyson Kieda



Friday, April 26, 2019

UNFAMILIAR ROADS

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

UNFAMILIAR ROADS

READ:  Psalm 119:105-112

Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me
in a smooth path.  Psalm 27:11

Trouble often lies ahead when we go down unfamiliar roads.  

I know a teenager who decided to take a different way to work one morning.  As he tried to navigate unfamiliar city streets, he went through an intersection without seeing the red octagonal sign that said “Stop.”

Within a few seconds, he did stop, but not for a stop sign.  He was pulled over by a helpful gentleman in a police car who reminded him that he should have stopped.  It cost him eighty dollars to learn about unfamiliar roads.

What would have happened if a guide had accompanied this young driver?  What if someone had been next to him to tell him which way to go and to alert him to danger ahead?  He wouldn’t be out the eighty dollars, that’s for sure.

In life, we often have to walk down unfamiliar paths-paths that may feel threatening.  So how do we do that without making costly mistakes?

We take Someone along who knows the way.  The psalmist recognized that Guide when he wrote, “Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness…make Your way straight before my face” (Psalm 5:8).

Does your path today seem unfamiliar?  Ask your Father to travel the road with you.            DB

Take Jesus with you as your faithful guide,
You cannot fail when He is at your side;
You may encounter trouble on life’s road,
But He will help to lift your heavy load. -Hess

The Spirit within us will faithfully guide us.




CAN OUR GOOD DEEDS SAVE US?

CAN OUR GOOD DEEDS SAVE US?

For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at:  www.Mannsword.blogspot.com


Why does God save us? Because we have been good, or because we have trusted in His mercy?

The late Catholic Priest, Henry Nouwen, believed, as many do, that we are saved because we have been good. In 1992, when writing to a friend on how to prepare AIDS victims for death, he writes:

       I am deeply convinced that Jesus is completely unique in the world as the full revelation of God’s life, but I also believe that many people can come to Christ even when they have never formally known Christ or had the opportunity to accept him. The final judgment, as Jesus says, is not based on whether or not they have known Jesus but whether or not the people have cared for those who are hungry, naked, prisoners, all the people in need.

Jesus did provide us with a portrait of those who are saved (Matthew 25:30-46). It was a portrait of those who had served Him with compassion. However, nowhere did He ever dismiss the idea that faith was at the core of this service, and that this service was merely the outgrowth of faith. Instead, Jesus had taught that salvation depended upon believing the truth:
       Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24)

To the religious leadership, He proclaimed:

       Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:28-29)

       I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)

If salvation is by faith, why then did Jesus also insist on the need to perform good deeds? Well, if we truly trust in Him, we will do what He tells us to do. In the same way, if I trust in my doctor, I will do what he tells me to do. If I do not trust in him at all, I will not follow his instructions. Consequently, our good deeds are the fruit of salvation and not its cause. Therefore, Jesus also taught:
       Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. (John 14:23-24)

The fruit of faith is therefore obedience. If we love Him, we will obey Him. Therefore, those who are obedient are those who trust Him and are saved. Consequently, many verses teach that those who are obedient to God’s Word are those who are saved. This is because some evidence of obedience is the necessary result or fruit of a transformed life.

This has been the message of the entire Bible. Faith in God had to be the foundation of a life in God. To not believe in God is to despise Him:
       And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? (Numbers 14:11)

This is because the evidence of His existence and goodness is so plain to us. Through the Prophet Jeremiah, God cries out to His people:
       Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, “‘Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the LORD; I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the LORD your God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you have not obeyed my voice, declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 3:12-13)

Restoration required confession of sins. If we have faith, we also confess our sins to God and find mercy and salvation (Luke 18:9-14).

Without faith, which includes the confession of sin and the renunciation of it (repentance), God will not be pleased with our good deeds:
       And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Why is it impossible to please God without faith? Without a changed disposition towards God, our good deeds are built on a foundation of self-righteousness and self-pride. Jesus taught that our lives had to be built upon a foundation of believing His teachings and then acting upon them:
       “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

A faithful disposition towards God has to be at the foundation of our lives. Without this, our deeds might look good, but they are not good. Just think of a friend who does many good things for you. However, the foundation of his house is corrupt. He is just setting you up to use you. Consequently, in view of his heart’s intentions, he “good” is actually evil. This is also true of those who make use of the blessings of God yet reject their benefactor. This is also true of those who try to live virtuously but deny the ontological existence of virtue. They intuitively know that objective laws or principles of virtue require a law-Giver, someone they refuse to tolerate.

If we are using the abilities that God has given us while rejecting the One who has given us everything that we have, we are evil and our motives are evil, however much we convince ourselves that we are worthy.

I know this, because this had been me. I did good to prove my goodness. Meanwhile, my foundation had been built on the sand of self-absorption and arrogance. Jesus gave us a portrait of such a person:
       He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt. (Luke 18:9)

Self-righteousness and contempt for others are inseparable. Where we find one, we find the other. Self-righteousness also represents a refusal to see ourselves as we really are.

By the mercy of God alone, He revealed to me what was really at the foundation of my life. Once He humbled me, He began to build me up and to release me from my self-imposed prison.

Without faith, our “good deeds” inevitably poison. This is why far more carnage has been caused by do-gooders – those convinced of the goodness of their cause – than by common criminals.

The idea that our good deeds can save us is antithetical to the nature of God and His righteousness. He cannot be in contact with sin without destroying its source, as He had explained to Moses:
       “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” (Exodus 33:3)

Instead, the Father had sent the Angel of His Presence (Exodus 33:14; Isaiah 63:9), presumably the Second Person of the Trinity, who had been with Israel. Consistent with this fact, God had warned Israel that the slightest infraction would place them under His curse (Deuteronomy 27:26). Consequently, any little sin could damn the sinner, as Jesus had taught:

       “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:22).

In light of this, the smallest sin could damn the sinner to hell.

       For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. (James 2:10)

Consequently, salvation had to be received as a pure gift of God’s mercy and not as a wage or an entitlement:
       For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

In view of this, the idea that we can earn anything from God is entirely unbiblical. God is never indebted to anyone, even by virtue of their good deeds:
       “Or who has given a gift to him [God] that he might be repaid?” (Romans 11:35; Job 41:11)

Even if we give away everything we own and even our lives for a righteous cause, this will not indebt God to us (1 Corinthians 13:3). Even in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Israelite was unable to do good deeds to redeem himself from a single sin. It all had to be by the mercy of God. How was this mercy obtained? By providing an animal to die in their place!

Paul also explained the source of God’s mercy using Abraham and David as examples:

       For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” [Genesis 15:6] Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,  just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” (Romans 4:2-8 quoting Psalm 32)

All of this should put the kibosh on any notion that we are able to climb the ladder to God’s mercy through our good deeds. It should also silence the many voices that claim that there are many routes to God, including good deeds, a good mind (enlightenment), or a good and loving heart.

Instead, from God’s vantage point, all of these offerings are corrupt and without any saving merit. According to Jesus, our hearts and minds are imprisoned by our love of darkness:
       “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (John 3:19-20)

While many pursue virtue, they have darkened their minds to the fact that they don’t even believe that there is such a thing as virtue. Instead, they pursue what they call “virtue” for pragmatic, self-serving reasons so that they can feel good about themselves and prove their worthiness. Instead, when we come to the light of faith, we see how unworthy we are of any of God’s blessings. This is why Jesus taught us to regard ourselves as “unworthy servants” (Luke 17:10).

In contrast, the unbeliever is on an endless quest to prove his worthiness by suppressing the light, which testifies to his unworthiness. Instead of lifting ourselves up through our “virtuous” performance, we are to humble ourselves to acknowledge our need for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Therefore, Jesus had warned the highly regarded Pharisees:
       “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; 18:24)

To believe that we can or have made ourselves acceptable before God through our “virtue” is self-exaltation self-delusion, and self-righteousness, an absolute stench before our Savior. He purposely chose the humble of this world so that no one would have the arrogance to boast of their merit and moral superiority (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

Our human condition is far worse than we might suppose. Quoting from the OT, Paul presented God’s indictment upon humanity:

       as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” (Romans 3:10-14)

To understand the Bible is to reject all notions that we can deserve or entitle ourselves to God’s mercy.



WHAT GOD SEES

What God Sees

The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
2 Chronicles 16:9



Early in the morning, I quietly pad past a family-room window overlooking a wilderness area behind our house. Often, I notice a hawk or owl perched in a tree, keeping watch over the area. One morning I was surprised to find a bald eagle boldly balanced on a high branch, surveying the terrain as if the entire expanse belonged to him. Likely he was watching for “breakfast.” His all-inclusive gaze seemed regal.

In 2 Chronicles 16, Hanani the seer (God’s prophet) informed a king that his actions were under a royal gaze. He told Asa, king of Judah, “You relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God” (v. 7). Then Hanani explained, “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (v. 9). Because of Asa’s misplaced dependence, he would always be at war.

Reading these words, we might get the false sense that God watches our every move so He can pounce on us like a bird of prey. But Hanani’s words focus on the positive. His point is that our God continually watches and waits for us to call on Him when we’re in need.

Like my backyard bald eagle, how might God’s eyes be roaming our world—even now—looking to find faithfulness in you and me? How might He provide the hope and help we need?
By Elisa Morgan

REFLECT & PRAY
O God, may You strengthen our hearts that we might be fully committed to You.

Why is it vital for you to regularly look to God for direction and guidance? How does it encourage you to know that God awaits your calls for help?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.


INSIGHT
Because of Solomon’s unfaithfulness (1 Kings 11:4-11), his kingdom was divided into two. Jeroboam, Solomon’s servant, ruled the northern kingdom of Israel (11:28-31), and Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, ruled the southern kingdom of Judah (14:21). Asa, the third king of Judah and Solomon’s great-grandson (2 Chronicles 12:16; 14:1), “did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord” (14:2) and instituted many religious reforms (chs. 14-15). But when war broke out between him and King Baasha of Israel, Asa turned to Syria for help instead of trusting God (16:1-3). God’s prophet Hanani rebuked Asa’s lack of faith, reminding him that God had previously rescued Judah from even more powerful enemies (12:1-12; 14:9-15). Asa refused to repent, and three years later God afflicted him with a severe foot disease. Still “he did not seek help from the Lord” (16:10-12). Asa died an unrepentant man. K. T. Sim


NOTHING HIDDEN

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

NOTHING HIDDEN

READ:  1 Timothy 5:24-25

Some men’s sins are clearly evident….Likewise,
the good works of some…and those that are otherwise
cannot be hidden.  1 Timothy 5:24-25

A woman had been maligned and misrepresented by an envious coworker.  She was frustrated because her attempts to confront the coworker in private had only made matters worse.  So she decided to swallow her pride and let the matter go.  She said, “I’m good the Lord knows the true situation.”  She expressed a profound truth that both warns and comforts.

Paul pointed out that nothing can be concealed forever (1 Timothy 5:24-25).  This serves as a solemn warning.  For example, a news report told about a highly respected person who was arrested for crimes he had been secretly committing for years.

Yet the fact that nothing can be hidden can also be a great consolation.  I have known people who never held a position of honor, nor were they recognized for their service.  After they died, however, I learned that in their own quiet way they had touched many lives with their kind words and helpful deeds.  Their good works could not remain hidden.

We can hide nothing from God-that’s a solemn warning!  But it’s also a great comfort, for our heavenly Father knows about every encouraging smile, every kind word, and every loving deed done in Jesus’s name.  And someday He will reward us.    HVL

Neither vice nor virtue can remain a secret forever.



NOT LIKE YESTERDAY

Not Like Yesterday

Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:3



When our grandson Jay was a child his parents gave him a new T-shirt for his birthday. He put it on right away and proudly wore it all day.

When he appeared the next morning in the shirt, his dad asked him, “Jay, does that shirt make you happy?”

“Not as much as yesterday,” Jay replied.

That’s the problem with material acquisition: Even the good things of life can’t give us the deep, lasting happiness we so strongly desire. Though we may have many possessions, we may still be unhappy.
The world offers happiness through material accumulation: new clothes, a new automobile, an update to our phone or watch. But no material acquisition can make us as happy as it did yesterday. That’s because we were made for God and nothing less will do.

One day, when Jesus was fasting and faint with hunger, Satan approached Him and tempted Him to satisfy His hunger by creating bread. Jesus countered by quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
Jesus didn’t mean that we should live only on bread. He’s rather stating a fact: We’re spiritual beings and thus we can’t exist on material goods alone.

True satisfaction is found in God and His riches.
By David H. Roper

REFLECT & PRAY
Teach me, God, what it means to live by Your riches today. You possess all I truly need!

Why do material acquisitions not provide long-term happiness? What have you learned from past expectations?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.


INSIGHT
Jesus’s forty days without food in the wilderness of Judea comes with echoes of Israel’s forty years in the wilderness of Sinai. Recalling how the Spirit led the Israelites into an uninhabitable no-man’s land, Jesus quoted repeatedly from their wilderness experience (Deuteronomy 6:16; 8:3; 10:20) as He too faced challenges that tested His trust in God to provide the bread and faithfulness on which His life and mission depended (Matthew 4:1-2; Deuteronomy 8:3). In each case, Jesus chose to trust the goodness of the Father He knew rather than the satisfaction (Matthew 4:3), help (v. 6), and compromise (vv. 8-9) suggested by His enemy (v. 10). Mart DeHaan


GROUND SQUIRRELS

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

GROUND SQUIRRELS

READ:  Romans 8:27-39

I was at ease, but He has shattered me.
Job 16:12

Ground squirrels hibernate near our home during the winter, and they reappear when the snow melts in the spring.  My wife Carolyn and I enjoy watching them scurry back and forth from one hole to another, while others stand like tiny sentries watching for predators.

In mid May, a man from a nearby golf course arrives on a little green tractor with a tank loaded with lethal gas.  The groundskeeper dig holes in the fairways.  Some survive, but most do not.  It always makes us a little sad to see the tractor arrive.

If I could, I’d chase the little animals away.  I’d destroy their holes and force them to settle someplace else.  I’m sure they would resent my interference, but my actions would be solely for their good.

So it is with God.  He may break up our comfortable nest now and then, but behind every difficult change lies His love and eternal purpose.  He is not cruel or capricious; He is working for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).  He wants us to be “conformed to the image of His Son” (v.29) and to give us glorious enjoyment in heaven forever.  How then can we fear change when it comes from Someone whose love for us never changes?  (vv. 38-39).  DHR

 What tenderness the Father shows
To sinners in their pain!
He grants to them His strength to bear
The hurt that brings them gain. -DJD


God’s love can seem harsh until we view it with hindsight.

SERVING THE SMALLEST

Serving the Smallest

God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things.
1 Corinthians 1:28



The video showed a man kneeling beside a busy freeway during an out-of-control brush fire. He was clapping his hands and pleading with something to come. What was it? A dog? Moments later a bunny hopped into the picture. The man scooped up the scared rabbit and sprinted to safety.

How did the rescue of such a small thing make national news? That’s why. There’s something endearing about compassion shown to the least of these. It takes a big heart to make room for the smallest creature.

Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a man who gave a banquet and made room for everyone who was willing to come. Not just the movers and shakers but also “the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame” (Luke 14:21). I’m thankful that God targets the weak and the seemingly insignificant, because otherwise I’d have no shot. Paul said, “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things . . . so that no one may boast before him” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

How big must God’s heart be to save a small person like me! In response, how large has my heart grown to be? I can easily tell, not by how I please the “important people,” but by how I serve the ones society might deem the least important.
By Mike Wittmer

REFLECT & PRAY
God, as Your servants please help us to value others the way You do, regardless of who they are or what they do.

What types of people do you have a hard time valuing? In what ways might God want you to change that?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.


INSIGHT

The Bible uses the banquet or feast metaphor to symbolize God’s offer of salvation to the world. Isaiah proclaimed that “the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples” (25:6). Luke uses the metaphor of a man who invited guests to “a great banquet” (14:16-17). Matthew likens it to the week-long celebratory “wedding banquet” for the king’s son (22:2). John speaks of a “wedding supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9), where believers from every nation will gather to celebrate God’s final salvation. They will come “from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Matthew 8:11). “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God” (Luke 14:15). K. T. Sim